New study says N-weapons alone may not prevent conflict in South Asia

Uzbekistan News.Net
Thursday 27th March, 2008 (ANI)

Washington, Mar 27 : A new study carried out by US' Stimson Centre has said that possession of nuclear weapons by India and Pakistan may help stabilise an adversarial relationship between the two countries, but they certainly do not prevent severe crises that can lead to a conflict.

The study was conducted on the 10-month military standoff between India and Pakistan following the attack on Indian Parliament in December 2001.

The study by Stimson Centre's Scoville fellow Alex Stolar includes interviews with India's former Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and former Defence Minister Jaswant Singh. Besides, other senior Indian national security officials who were in government during the confrontation were also interviewed.

The study also maintains that "message management" during a crisis was both essential and difficult. Disciplined message management can help prevent unintended escalation during a crisis.

National leaders, however, must convey information to multiple domestic and international audiences during a crisis, and doing so effectively and precisely is extraordinarily challenging.

Finally, the study holds that facilitating interagency co-operation is a vital but complicated task for heads of state and principals in the midst of a crisis. Even during the best of times, co-ordinating complex government bureaucracies in the formulation and implementation of policy is difficult.

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